Representations of the Witch in Popular Culture

This chapter explores the increasingly nuanced figure of the witch in contemporary culture, beginning with a review of the witch trope in TV and films from the 1960s through to more contemporary representations. The chapter shows how popular portrayals of witches intersected with women's empowerment and agency. Through the influence of TV series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, as well as films such as The Witches of Eastwick, The Craft and Practical Magic, we track how the witch figure particularly resonates with teenage and youth culture as it offers a form of spiritual self-development that helps them regain a sense of control in a turbulent and often threatening world. We also show how these representations reflect contemporary feminist trends as well as the cultural turn to neopaganism from the early 1980s in both the US and the UK.